gaudiya math chennai / the gaudiya february 2012

8/3/2019 gaudiya math chennai / The Gaudiya February 2012

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THE GAUDIYA 1FEBRUARY 2012

THE

GAUDIYASpiritual Monthly

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Vol. LV FEBRUARY 2012 No. 6

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Did the treasury of unalloyed devotion get unlocked at the Incarnations of Sri Ramaand Nrisimha etc., although They destroyed the Rakshasas and Daityas again what little

spiritual benefit we may derive from Sankhya-yoga etc. of Kapiladeva and others whenwe compare them with Sri Chaitanyas contribution and what a meek greatness we mayobserve in acts of creation, preservation and destruction done by the Guna-Avataraslike Brahma and others; neither we feel it so praiseworthy to the act of Varahadeva Wholifted the sinking Earth and reinstated her to her position whereas what a super-excellentbenevolency of the unreserved gift of paramount Transcendental Loving devotion ofBhagavan Sri Chaitanyadeva in comparison with which the above mentioned subjectsare unworthy to be accounted with. So we take our sole recourse at that great God SriChaitanya. Srila Prabodhnanda Saraswati


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THE GAUDIYA2 FEBRUARY 2012

The auralreceptive entity isnot to exert itsinfluence to impedethe course of thet ranscen-denta lSound who wouldbe pouring in with

the purpose ofregulating the erringego.

So an eternal devotee should notcease to chant the Eternal Name of Hariconstantly without any interruption. Theinterceding repelling and coveringenergy of the Absolute will otherwise acton him. The anti-devotional attitude willkeep a reader of the Vedanta far off fromthe Absolute Truth. The sincere student

of the Vedanta is expected to realise thepresence of the Object of his eternaldevotion and to be emotional. The mellowquality will display some symptoms whichwill bear testimony to his transcendentalrealisation; otherwise it would prove hisimpervious character resembling that ofa stone or adamant, or in other words, hewould be considered to be anunsuccessful reader of the subject. Theconception of the Absolute Truth will neverbe in his possession, if he confineshimself to his sensuous activities andalways desiring to lord it over the worldlyphenomena.

If he cares to learn from others thereal nature of their experience to bringhimself in touch with the objects that havenot been within the range of his senses,he will profit much by such an associationand try to add to the store of his

Pithy Precepts of Srila Prabhupdknowledge, which he could not havegathered by his attempts through thesenses. When he welcomes theunprecedented nature of the Vedantaworking in him is sensuousaggrandisement, he erroneously thinkshimself amply rewarded by the acquisitionof experience of an expert who is running

after an impersonal object void of all sortsof designation. He can avail himself of apartial view of the indeterminate non-designative plane where the triple formsof mundane qualities are not expected topreponderate in exhibiting theirsignificance. The Transcendental Soundbecomes his sole engagement, he havingsecured the position of setting himself freefrom the egoistic exploitations of thephenomenal plane. Such a position would

offer him the conception of the Absoluteto Whom his only duty would to offer hiseternal services. This stage is known asregaining the true function after the expiryof his term of imprisonment as an enjoyer.Now he is in his proper health to engagehimself as the eternal servitor of theAbsolute, knowing his own position. Thefull conception of the Absolute will give himthe facility of serving the eternal Master inthe highest capacity of devotion. In theDahara Chapter of the ChhandogyaUpanishad, we find that all thesepassionate activities are fulfilled when truesalvation is acquired. The passionateactivities are proselytised to most perfectengagement with the Absolute. So eternalfull recognition will render a servitor exactlyfitting the Great Consort for Whom everyunalloyed spirit should have her onlyactivity.


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Thus Spake Srila chryadevaA tall figure, effulgent like pure

gold, more than six feet in height withhands stretching to the knees, voicedeep and sonorous like thunder in newclouds, a face more beautiful than thefull moon, with broad forehead, longeye-brows, large eyes like the petalsof the lotus, a long and aquiline noselike the beak of a Khagapati, lips likea Bimba fruit and teeth likepomegranate seeds. His throat wasmarked with three lines like conch. Hischest was broad and waist thin as of alion. His thighs looked like the stalk ofa banana tree and knees like theprobosis of an elephant.

Apart from the miraculous traitsassigned to Him by His biographers intheir multiplicity of supernatural details,

there remain many qualities of headand heart which were decidedly abovethe average. He was a shining gem inthe intellectual crest of Bengal and asupremely gifted prodigy. Theradiance that had magnetised the mostintractable sinner and diabolical andmurderous criminals like Jagai andMadhai under the shock of anoverwhelming emotion, emanatedfrom His power of sainthood. His

personal magnetism was indeed extra-ordinary. His psychological insightamounted to genius. He was the mostloving of all saints and the embodimentof deep sympathies. His supremecharacteristic genius which can neverdiminish nor make His less inspiring,is the power of which He weaned, fromworldly ambitions, hundreds of peoplein politi-cal and admini-strative posts,

such as, Rupa,S a n a t a n a ,R a m a n a n d aRaya andprincely youths,such as Raghu-nathadasa andthe blackestcriminal likeJagai and Madhai.He was a spiritual healer of sufferinghumanity. Full of love for devotees,knowing nothing but Krishna loving allequally, self-restrained, bestowing thehighest good on humanity, calmnesspervading His nature, as He neverteaches any Purushartha other thanBhagavat Prema (Love of God), Heputs on bangles of Sandal-wood whileHe dances, steeped in the ecstasy oflove of Krishna.

For many years Sree Mayapur,heart of old Navadwip was hidden fromthe public eye. The people sometimesmistook the present town of Navadwipwhich lies on the Western side of theGanges for its old name-sake whichactually lies on the Eastern side of theGanges as borne out by all historicaland geographical data. A few yards off

lies Ballal Dhipi where the ruins of thePalace of King Ballal Sen are stillexisting. This place has been protectedby Government under the ancientMonument Preservation Act for futureexcavation.

Navadwip has a history of its own,both political and socio-religio-cultural.This was once the heart of a populoustown called Nadia which described in


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ALMANAC for the months of FEBRUARY & MARCH 2012

17.02.2012 Fri Demise of Sripad Bhakti Bhushan Bhgavat Maharj

18.02.2012 Sat Trisprish Mahdwdashi Fasting. Next day parana between6.12 and 9.58 a.m.

20.02.2012 Mon Shivartri Vrata

22.02.2012 Wed Disappearance of Vaishnava Srvabhauma Srila Jagannth DsBbji Maharj and Srila Rasiknanda Goswmi

24.02.2012 Fri Appearance of Srila Purushottam Thkur

03.03.2012 Sat Commencing of the circumambulation of Navadwip Dhm

04.03.2012 Wed malaki Ekdashi Fasting. Next day Prana between 6.00and 9.52 a.m.

05.03.2012 Mon Disappearance of Srila Mdhavendra Puri Goswmi

07.03.2012 Wed Demise of Srmad Bhakti Kamala Avadhuta Maharj

08.03.2012 Thu SRI GAURA JAYANTI, ADVENT OF LORD SRICHAITANYA MAHAPRABHU -- FASTING. Next dayPrana between 5.56 and 9.50 a.m.

the biography of Sri ChaitanyaMahaprabhu written in the 16th Centuryas a densely populated university townof learning, attracting scholars andstudents for studies from all parts of India.

Sri Chaitanya Bhagavata written bySri Vrindavan Das Thakur is regardedas the most authoritative and excellenttreatment of His early life. Sri VrindavanDas was born in 1507AD. and SriChaitanya Bhagavata was written in

1533 AD. Sri Chaitanya Charitamritaof Sri Krishna Das Kaviraj Goswamiwhich deals with the second and thirdparts of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhus lifeis regarded as the most philosophicaland instructive treatment of His mostinteresting period. Kavi Karnapur wrote

Chaitanya Chandrodaya Natak in1575. One should refer for the mostauthentic account of Sri Chaitanyas life,to Chaitanya Chandrodaya Natak, SriChaitanya Charitamrita etc.

He was called Nimai Pandit in Hisboyhood. As a student, He was gifted.He was the greatest scholar ingrammatical literature, paramount in theNyaya system of philosophy andAlankar (rhetoric). Sri Chaitanya Deva

exhibited His peerless intellect anddivine knowledge when KeshavaKashmiri, perhaps the greatest scholarof the day, came to Navadwip aferdefeating many pandits of India to meetthe pandits of Navadwip who were allafraid of him.


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The Bhagavat: Its Philosophy,

Its Ethics and Its TheologySrila Bhaktivinode Thakur

The Bhagavat has suffered alike fromshallow critics both Indian and outlandish.That book has been accursed anddenounced by a great number of ouryoung countrymen, who have scarcely

read its contents and pondered over thephilosophy on which it is founded. It isowing mostly to their imbibing anunfounded prejudice against it when theywere in school. The Bhagavat, as a matterof course, has been held in derision bythose teachers, who are generally of aninferior mind and intellect. This prejudiceis not easily shaken when the studentgrows up unless he candidly studies thebook and ruminates on the doctrines of

Vaishnavism. We are ourselves witnessof the fact. When we were in the college,reading the philosophical works of theWest and exchanging thoughts with thethinkers of the day, we had a real hatredtowards the Bhagavat. That great worklooked like a repository of wicked andstupid ideas, scarcely adapted to thenineteenth centuary, and we hated to hearany arguments in its favour. With us thena volume of Channing, Parker, Emersonor Newman had more weight than thewhole lots of the Vaishnav works. Greedilywe poured over the variouscommentations of the Holy Bible and ofthe labours of the Tattwa Bodhini Sabha,containing extracts from the Upanishadsand the Vedanta, but no work of theVaishnavas had any favour with us. Butwhen we advanced in age and ourreligious senti-ment received

development, weturned out in amanner Unitarianin our belief andprayed, as Jesusprayed in the

G a r d e n .Accidentally, we fell in with a work aboutthe Great Chaitanya, and on reading it withsome attention in order to settle thehistorical position of that Mighty Genius ofNadia, we had the opportunity of gatheringhis explanations of Bhagavat, given to thewrangling Vedantist of the Benares School.The accidental study created in us a lovefor all the works which we find about ourEastern Saviour. We gathered withdifficulties the famous Kurchas in Sanskrit,written by the disciples of Chaitanya. Theexplanations that we got of the Bhagavatfrom these sources, were of such acharming character that we procured acopy of the Bhagavat complete, andstudied its texts (difficult of course to thosewho are not trained up in philosophicalthoughts) with the assistance of thefamous commentaries of ShreedharaSwami. From such study it is that we haveat least gathered the real doctrines of the

Vaishnavas. Oh! What a trouble to get ridof prejudices gathered in unripe years!

As far as we can understand, noenemy of Vaishnavism will find any beautyin the Bhagavat. The true critic is agenerous judge, void of prejudices andparty-spirit. One, who is at heart thefollower of Mohamad, will certainly find thedoctrines of the New Testament to be

(Contd. from January issue)


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aforgery by the fallen angel.A TrinitarianChristian, on the other hand, will denouncethe precepts of Mohamad as those of anambitious reformer. The reason simplyis, that the critic should be of the samedisposition of mind as that of the author,whose merits he is required to judge.Thoughts have different ways. One, whois trained up in the thoughts of theUnitarian Society or of the Vedant of theBenares School, will scarcely find pietyin the faith of the Vaishnavas. An ignorant

Vaishnav, on the other hand, whosebusiness it is to beg from door to door inthe name of Nityananda will find no pietyin the Christian. This is, because theVaishnav does not think in the way inwhich the Christian thinks of his ownreligion. It may be, that both the Christianand the Vaishnav will utter the samesentiment, but they will never stop theirfight with each other only because theyhave arrived at their common conclusion

by different ways of thoughts. Thus it is,that a great deal of ungenerousnessenters into the arguments of the piousChristians when they pass their imperfectopinion on the religion of the Vaishnavas.

Subjects of philosophy and theologyare like the peaks of large towering andinaccessible mountains standing in themidst of our planet inviting attention andinvestigation. Thinkers and men of deepspeculation take their observationsthrough the instruments of reason, andconsciousness. But they take differentpoints when they carry on their work.These points are positions chalked out bethe circumstances of their social andphilosophical life, different as they are inthe different parts of the world. Platolooked at the peak of the Spiritual questionfrom the West and Vyasa made theobservation from the East; so Confucus

did it from further East, and Schlegel,Spinoza, Kant and Goethe from furtherwest. These observations were made atdifferent times and by different means, butthe conclusion is all the same in as muchas the object of observation was one andthe same. They all hunted after the GreatSpirit the unconditioned Soul of theUniverse. They could not but get aninsight into it. Their words andexpressions are different, but their importis the same. They tried to find out the

absolute religion and their labours werecrowned with success, for God gives allthat He has to His children if they want tohave it. It requires a candid, generous,pious and holy heart to feel the beautiesof their conclusions. Party-spiritthatgreat enemy of truthwill always baffle theattempt of the enquirer, who tries to gathertruth from religious works of their nations,and will make him believe that absolutetruth is nowhere except in his old religious

book. What better example could beadduced than the fact that the greatphilosopher of Benares will find no truthin the universal brotherhood of man andthe common fatherhood of God? Thephilosopher, thinking in his own way ofthought, can never see the beauty of theChristian faith. The way, in which Christthought of his own father was loveabsolute and so long as the philosopherwill not adopt that way of thinking he willever remain deprived of the absolute faith

preached by the western Saviour. In asimilar manner, the Christian needs adoptthe way of thought which the Vedantistpursued, before he can love theconclusions of the philosopher. The critic,therefore, should have a comprehensive,good, generous, candid, impartial and asympathetic soul.

(to be contd......)


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ENEMIES IN THE FORM OF DISEASE

For living a peaceful life, one should

have worthy friends and should be free fromenemies. All the individuals, house holders,

communities and the rulers should

efficiently keep their enemies away by

conquering them and by driving them away.

One should have wisdom, bravery, virtue,

courage and unity to defeat the enemies.

Those who are careless, sinful, corrupted,stupid and unrighteous shall fall a prey to

the designs of the enemies. These

enemies are principally of two kinds such

as, external enemies and internalenemies. One can conquer the external

enemies by remaining inside the well-

maintained fortress, by the help of his

disciplined soldiers. If the enemies enter

within the fortress or within the house, then

it shall become difficult to defeat them. The

internal enemies are hundred times

dangerous than the external enemies. The

external enemies can inflict considerable

harm, only by the assistance of the internal

enemies. The negative traits such as, lust, anger, passion, pride and envy are the

sixfold internal enemies of the human

beings. Without conquering them, one cannever lead a peaceful life. Lord Krishna

says that, the conquered mind is your best

friend, whereas your own unconquered

mind is your worst enemy. Therefore,mind-control is a very important issue of

BEWARE OF HUMAN BEINGS

POSSESSED BY THE GHOST OF NESCIENCES

THE HUMAN SOCIETY

Sripad B.S. Narayan Maharaj

noble human life. Unless you offer your

mind to Lord Krishna, you can never

conquer it. The mind is the king of all the

senses. Therefore, all the faculties of the

senses and mind should be engaged in the

absolute service of the Lord Krishna, by

totally surrendering to Him, under the

guidance of holy souls.

ONSLAUGHT BY THE ENEMIES

The various kinds of diseases faced

by the human beings are compared to the

enemies who are all set to invade and

destroy our lives. They reduce our

longevity, cripple our ability, destroy our

energy, jeopardize our well being and ruinthe purpose of our lives. The various kinds

of diseases enter the human body in the

form of germs, poisons, toxins, immuno-

difficiency factors, genetic defects etc., andcreate organic, functional, harmonal,

nervous, circulatory, cardiac, motor, mental

and cellular disturbances resulting in

endless sufferings. Chronic diseases are

the greatest enemies of the human kind.

No one in this world like to invite troubles,

so also no one is ever spared by thevarious adversities. People are always

invaded by the triple afflictions due to other

living beings (dhibhautika tpa), due to

supernatural causes (dhidaivika tpa)

and due to ones own body and mind

(dhytmika tpa).

VIOLATION OF THE NATURAL LAWS

Whenever the human beings commit


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crimes against the laws of spirit, laws ofethics, laws of the nature, laws of hygiene,

laws of the land, laws of the society, laws

of civics etc., they become liable for

punishment by the relevant authorities.

Either knowingly or unknowingly people

commit mistakes and suffer accordingly.

The so-called democratic rulers avoid

punishing the misdeeds of their vote-banks

by abusing their political power. In fact, true

democracy can be upheld only by the

enlightened electorates and honestpoliticians. You can very well imagine the

horrible plight of democracy with the

majority of foolish electorates and selfish

leaders! The theme of each one teach

one has almost been degraded into each

one cheat all! Such politicians are hardlyhabituated to look beyond their own selfish

interests of dynasty-welfare at the cost of

the nation.

DEALING WITH THE ENEMIES

Our armed forces may be able toconquer the external invaders, but they fail

to protect the nation from the selfishdesigns of the political opportunists. A

virtuous ruler punishes the anti-socials and

anti-nationals by rewarding the honest and

patriotic citizens. Quite contrary to this

established standard, selfish rulers behave

otherwise. Our pseudo-secular rulers are

world-champions in the game of divide and

ruin. The Manu Dharma Shastra states

that, wherever the venerable people aredishonoured and the sinful people are

glorified, such a land shall invariably

undergo the triple perils of scarcity, fear and

destruction. Lord Sri Krishna says (Gita

18.32) that, too much greed for thematerials of the world perverts the intellect

of the human biengs. In such a mode of

ignorance, they confound irreligion with

religion and understand everything in anopposite manner. In such a situation, they

tend to support all that is detrimental, and

decry righteousness. These evil minded

people furiously blaspheme all that is

righteous and try to legitimise all kinds of

evil dealings through money-power and

muscle-power. When the leading section

of the society becomes tainted like this, the

common masses become perplexed to

think what is good and what is bad!

Alongwith the advancement of Kaliyuga, thiskind of devilish attitude shall gain very high

momentum. By observing such

unrighteous attitudes, the saintly poets

have sung that, Kudos to the impacts ofthe Kaliyuga, which makes the rulers to

acquire and honour the culprits, arrest and

assault the gentle people, and to hang the

innocent wayfarers! Such thingssimultaneously subject us to laugh and

grief! When huge amounts of national

assets are stolen and misappropriated bythe greedy rulers, who can avert the

problems like inflation, scarcity, dearth,

price-rise, disparity and suffering of the

citizens?

THE ADVANCEMENT OF KALIYUGA

While analysing the cause of national

calamities and misfortuens Sri

Mahabharata points out two prominent

factors such as, blunder of the rulers and

the adversity due to unfavourable time.

Among these prominent factors, the faultof the rulers is more evil-productive than

the adversity due to time. While a righteous

king can modify the factor of ominous timeby the help of his own good conduct, a

wicked king shall destroy the worthy result

of even favourable time to ruin the nation,

by dint of his own brutal nature.

(to be contd......)


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In order to perfect his enjoyment it isnecessary for him to ascertain his purerelationship with Nature. That relationshipseems to the empiric imagination to benothing short of complete lordship of manover Nature. By balancing the different

Natural forces one against another manwants to be able to subordinate Nature tohis purpose viz. of serving as a means ofhis unlimited sensuous gratification.

Very satisfactory progress is alsosupposed to have been made towards theattainment of the object. Though by theirony of fate the discovery of today is everfalsified by the invention of tommorrow thepower which has already been secured toman over the forces of Nature seems to

be concretely represented by the splendidachievements of civilization which areregarded as the product of the physicalsciences. The world of today is being ruledby mechanical contrivances which haveenabled man to harness the forces ofNature to the service of himself. This isalso, somewhat inconsistently no doubt,proclaimed by those empiricists who arein possession of the citadels of religion allover the world as in accordance with the

purpose of Providence and thereforeidenctical with the service of Godhead asenjoined by the scriptures of the differentcreeds. In fact the empiric religionsts (?)hope confidently to be able one day toprove with the aid of the sciences thewisdom of all scriptural injunctions. Theonly little difficulty that stands in the way ofsuch scientific interpretation of thescriptures is that this science itself is never

Vaishnavas are less intelligent, efficient, learned and tactfulPrabhupad Sri Srimad Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Goswami Thakur

(Contd. from January issue) sure of anything. It is of course possibleto hold, as many well-known andsuccessful leaders openly confess to do,that the socalled scriptures themselvesrequire to be brought up to date by periodicrevisions of their contents. In this wayeverything would be made square by

being built on sand against significantprotests of the scriptures themselves.

Religion as reperesented by thescriptures is in imminent danger of beingsuppressed whole-sale. It is seriouslyregarded as the greatest menace to thesuccess of the sciences in promoting thewell-being of the race. Empiricists cannotbut hold that religion is incompatible withscience, Admission of the possibility ofthe revelation of the Absolute through His

causeless grace seems to be anadmission of the utter uselessness of allscientific enquiry. The consistnt empiricistis driven by the pressure of his own logicto the denial of the Absolute in self-defence.

Empiric religionists (?) realise theplight of empiric scientists. They hastento build a bridge of reconcilation byproposing to subordinate religion toscience. There are various methods by

which the policy of surrender is sugar-coated for easing its acceptance. Themethod that is most in vogue is that ofscientific interpretation of the practicesand doctrines of religion. The local andapparent is proved to be as much thesubstance of religion as of science. Thisclever attack on religion is being carriedout from within the camp of religion in co-operation with the avowed foe outside.


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Those religionists who have thrown

in their lot with the empiricists are busyproviding themselves with elaborateworldly interpretation of religious doctrinesand practices. Performance of sandhyaand vegetarian diet are good for health.Breathing exercises represented by yogalead to longvity,Etc., Etc.

It is no doubt true that doctrines andpractices that are passed off by theirprofessors as religious are seldomuntainted by such prejudices. This leads

to the promulgation of spurious doctrinesand spurious practices as the result ofsystematic and dishonest interpretation.False doctrines and practices haveresulted not rarely from so-called reformmovements inspired by worldly motives.Those false interpretations that havegrown old are also on account of their agethemselves regarded subsequently aspart and parcel of the scriptures.

So there has been going on ever

since the beginning of creation asystematic and comprehensive attempt todiscredit and falsify religion. It would,therefore, be strictly in accordance withfact to assert that empiric science hasnever been a lover of religion. Thecivilization that regards itself as based onempiric science is obliged not only to fightshy of religion but to oppose it tooth andnail by all its institutions in order to justifyand safeguard its own existence.

It is apprehended that if thecontention that the Truth can be knownonly by the method of continuous andunconditional submission to the spiritualpreceptor, be admitted such admissionwoud be the death-knell of the layUniversities. If the contention that the so-called truths which can be learned by theempiric methods of induction anddeduction from premises supplied by the

defective senses by those who seek

thereby the gratification of their senses areby their nature illusory and misleading andonly obstruct our vision of the real Truth,be admitted such admission wouldnecessitate the suppression of humancivilization based on empiric wisdomgathered in the inductive and deductivesciences by the selfless (?) labours of pastgenerations.

This point has already been touchedin considering the share of man in the

building up (?) of civilization. The abovecontentions assume that because empiricknowledge is tentative and have referenceonly to transitory matters therefore it isbound to be true for this reason. The properattitude towards empiric knowledge is thatof the seekers of the Absolute. If it beclearly impossible to attain to the Truth byempiric methods how are we to attain toHim at all?

Empiric science is not the cause but

the product of the cosmic process whichis in no sense under the direction of man.Empiric science counsels slavishsubmission to the pitiless, insentient lawsof material! Nature to obtain questionableand transient illusory respite from variousmiseries that are supposed to be the lotinto which man has been born for causesunknown to himself. Empiric science isthe product and expression of this attitudeof the mind towards the cosmos. It iscommon to all investigators who expect

that they will obtain the answer to theirquestionings by a close acquaintance withNature. Those who under the lead of thisattitude recommend a policy of lordshiphope to be her lords also by the samepolicy of perfect submission to Nature.They admit Nature to be all-powerful. Thephysical brain whis is indispensable for ourvery mental existence is itslef a gift ofNature. (to be contd.......)


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He moveth, yet moveth not. He isboth far and near. He is in the innerconsciousness of all, yet He envelopesall.**

The great poet Kalidas has someshlokas in imitation of the above on thispoint in his Raghuvamsam Canto X,which may be translated in thesewords:

Thou art ever present in our hearts,yet Thou art at a distance. Thou art freefrom desires, yet Thou practisst severeausterities. Thou art full of mercy, yetThou art unaffected by sorrow. Thou artthe oldest Being, yet Thou art free fromthe infirmities of age.

Thou art self-existent, yet Thou artborn, Thou art free from passions, yetThou destroyst enemies. Who thendoes know Thy true nature.

Thyself immeasurable, Thoumeasurst the world. Thyself desireless,Thou fulfillest the desires of all (Thydevotees). Thyself unconquered, Thouart ever victorious. Thyself unmanifested(to worldly people), Thou art the rootcause of this phenomenal universe.

Thou art an omniscient Being, butnone (who are worldly-minded) can knowThee. Thou art the primal cause of all,but Thou Thyself art without a cause.Thou art the Ruler of all, but Thou hastno ruler. Thou art One, yet Thou existstin infinite (transcendental) forms.1

Para-Brahma & MayaSripad Vishweswara Das

(Contd. from January issue) True it is that Brahma is an Absoluteand unconditioned Being. True it is thatHe is the only source of all real and unrealexistences. Nevertheless, it is true thatBrahma is not an abstract existence noran attributeless Being; on the other handHe is the Fountain-head of all

conceivable and inconceivableattributes. He is all Existence, allKnowledge and all Bliss.

Thus says Shankaracharya himselfin his Atma-bodha:

He who fills all space, above, belowand around as Existence, Knowledgeand Bliss and Who is Infinite and withouta second is Brahma, the Ever ExistingUnique Being.2

Again in the Sruti we read:Brahma shines as an Ever

Existing, All Knowing, All Blissful, InfiniteBeing.3

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Accepting the above interpretationsof the nature of Brahma as true, it iseasily seen that Brahma is bothimmanent and transcendental. Thus inthe Rigveda Samhita we find:

Brahma has infinite heads (but notof flesh and bone), infinite eyes andinfinite feet. He prevades the whole(material) universe, yet remains outsideit by ten inches (i.e. He is both immanentand transcendental).4

Again in the Bhagavad Gita saysKrishna:

O Arjuna! What is the use ofknowing more? Know this for certain thatI hold the whole phenomenal universeonly by one portion of Myself (i.e., I amboth immanent and transcendental).5

Thus we see that Brahma pervadesthe phenomenal universe, co-exists withit, remains outside it and exists after thephenomenal universe is destroyed. In

other words, He exists before creation,with creation, outside creation and afterthe destruction of all created things. It isnot at al inconsistent or incompatible withDivine Nature to create this illusory,phenomenal universe with all itsmultifarious manifestations, althoughBrahma is not at all affected by this Mayaor illusion. Maya is the power of illusionbelonging to Brahma which operates byHis will to bring about this phenomenal

universe with its manifold forms, varietiesand appearances. This Maya becomeseffective and spreads its charms assoon as Brahma is inclined to create .Kapila, the founder of the Sankhyasystem of philosophy has identifiedMaya with Prakriti and has mistakenlysupposed that it is not a power of Brahmabut something else coeval with Him. In

point of fact, Maya exists in Brahma notas touch exists in air and heat in fire, oras whiteness in milk and sweetness insugar but as shadow haunts thesubstance. Maya is the cause of illusoryor material creation, the phenomenon asopposed to the substantive and eternalReality. Thus although Maya is but thepower of illusion or nescience, yet byreason of its Divine Potency it is capableof working apparent impossibilities.Indeed, such is the potent influence ofMaya that it is impossible for anyindividual soul to escape from the sphereof its influence except by Divine grace.It can be overcome only by those whoare privileged to know Brahma.

y| : q: o @ u uoz wnnuoeWp @@

(to be contd...)

4

Es {oz uN roz o\| @ubut NwnzNz usoz \To @@

5

Bala Krishna


13/23


Ambarish and DurvasaSri Kishori Mohan Pal


But Shankara said, Darling I have nocontrol over the Supreme Being; on manyoccasions out of pride on our part anddisregard for Him we were greatlymistaken. This Chakra of the SupremeLord is certainly unbearable for us. You

had better go to Him and take His shelter;He will do good to you.

Thus disappointed, Durvasa thoughtwithin himslef, I have approached Brahmaand my Gurudeva Shiva for shelter but Ihave been disappointed. Now I have cometo such a plight that I shall have to go toHim Whose devotee I have insluted. TheRishi then went to the Lord of LakshmiWho was then in the presence of Lakshmi,prostrated himself before Him and withtrembling limbs said, Achyuta! Ananta!Giver of all courage to the Sadhus! I havecommitted a great offence. Thou art thewell-wisher of the world, I am a jiva of theuniverse, so save me. Not knowing Thypowers, with self-conceit did I attempt tocause mischief to Thy devotee. O God!Save me from this offence! O God! I wontretire if Thou sayst that there is no helpfor him who commits offence against adevotee. Even a person condemned tohell is saved by uttering Thy holy Name,

even so will there be no remedy for me?Sri Bhagavan, the Lord of all jivas,

then said, Brahman! I am not independentbut dependent on My devotees. MyBhaktas are very dear to Me, they are thevery core of My heart. I love My bhaktasmore than Myself, because I am their onlyresort. How can I be off from them whohave abandoned their sons, dear relations,

friends, wealth, their lives and their all andhave surrendered themselves to Me. OVipra! Like chaste wives controlling theirhusbands, the Sadhus have brought Meunder their control. Their hearts are full tothe brim with My service. Even if grantedby Myself they refuse to accept anything

else than My service; even four forms ofliberation, not to speak of any lesserenjoyment. Hence Vipra! If you say Mybhakta is giving you pain, My answer is thata devotee is superior to you fired with thepotency of Brahma and that by insultingAmbarisha you have given pains to Myheart.

Again if you say, Oh Lord! I have takenrefuge with Thee, excuse my offence, tothat My answer is that I am within the heartof a sadhu and a sadhus satisfaction isthe same as Mine. Go and pacifyAmbarisha. If you say that Ambarisha afterinviting you, has taken meal before you andhence has committed an offence; to that Isay that the sadhus know none to besuperior to Me. If you question again, whichis greaterto serve a Brahman orDwadashi? To this My answer is, Go andask Ambarisha about that. He will give youthe just reply. You are not conversant withShastric knowledge. Dont be ashamed of

your ignorance. I know none superior to asadhu. The Bhaktas are not ignorant.Ambarisha has taken water according tothe dictations of the Sruti Shastras. OhVipra! At once go to him whom you haveoffended. Dont you know that one whocauses mischief to a sadhu, causesmischief to himself. If you boast of yourmeditation and erudition, then I say thatascetic practices and learning are only the


14/23


external accomplishments of a Brahman

which in the case of ill-mannered actors,produce wrong effects. Hence go toAmbarisha and beg his pardon.

With a heavy heart Durvasa returnedto Ambarisha and surrendered himself tohis feet. The Maharaj was very muchashamed at the Brahman touching hisfeet, and mollified with his entreaties beganto pacify Chakra, saying, OhSudarshana! If ever I have acquired anymerits by my gifts or Yajnas, if ever I have

successfully performed my religious rites,if God is satisfied with me, then with Hisgrace let the Brahman be out of danger.Then the Chakra calmed down. When theRishi was out of danger, he began to praiseAmbarisha, the giver of his life.

Durvasa said, Great King, today Ihave realised the greatness of the eternalservants of God; nothing is impossible tothem. I committed offences against youbut you easily trifled with them. Lo! Nothing

is impracticable to them who have broughtthe Supreme Lord Himself under theircontrol. Nothing is impossible to theservants of Godhead, even the hearing ofWhose Names purifies the hearts of men.Maharaj, you are very kind, becauseoverlooking my faults, you have saved mylife today.

Then the king after bowing down to theRishi and touching his feet appeased himwith the favour (prasad) of the Supreme

Lord in the form of His tasted food. Highlysatisfied with his hospitality, Durvasa askedthe King to take his meal and then said, OKing, you are a great devotee, I am muchobliged to you and much pleased at yourfriendliness and Vaishnava hospitality. Theheavenly gods and worldly men will singyour fame for all time to come.

The quality of resignation of Godsdevotees is indescribable. Their humility

like that of a blade of grass is manifest inevery word. Mercy to jivas is clearly seenin all their actions. So long as Durvasa didnot return, during the course of a year,Maharaj Ambarisha, waiting in expectationof his return lived upon water only andinspite of repeated requests from themembers of his court, did not leave thespot; on the contrary, with body, mind, andwords, he prayed to God for the Rishiswelfare.

However, when Durvasa had gone

away, the King after taking the offerings toVishnu, began to think over the Rishisdanger his escape out of it, his ownpatience and the influence of Sri Bhagavan.Maharaj Ambarisha was assiduouslydevoted to Bhagavan Vasudeva andconsidered all enjoyments of the world andeven the position of the Brahman to beutterly useless and undesirble.

After this Maharaj Ambarisha handing

over the charge of his empire to his worthy

son retired to the forest and devoted therest of his life to the lonely contemplation

of Bhagavan Vasudeva. A question may

arise as to why the great King betook

himself to the forest when he was

accustomed to serve Sri Hari day and night

in his home. The answer is that the

masses follow the classes. After duly

serving God in the Grihastha Ashram

(household life), people should adopt thelife of a vanaprastha (recluse in the forest).

Further if we look at the thing from theMaharajs point of view, it may be said that

just as a millionaire covets for more moneyand crosses the deep in quest of the same,

so also Maharaj Ambarisha, although

already rich with the wealth of devotion to

God, went out into the forest in search of

more.

*


15/23



Srila Raghunath Das GoswamiPrabhupad Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Goswami Thakur

As the festivity progressed itstidings drew to the spot the vendors ofarticles of food from the different villageswho brought chinra, curds, sweetmeatsand plantains for sale. Purchasing allthese from the vendors at their proper

price Raghunathadas made the vendorsthemselves feast on their own soldarticles. All the people who chanced toarrive there to witness the festivity werealso made to dine on the purchasedchinra, curds and plantains.

After taking meal Sri Nityanandaperformed the achaman (rinsing ofmouth with water) and gave the leavingsof four of the vessels to Raghunath. Theleavings of the other three vessels he

distributed to all a mouthful each, by thehand of the Brahman who had servedthe food. Then the same Brahmanfetched the garlands of flowers, placedthem on the neck of the Lord and appliedthe sandal paste to all parts of His body.The Lord continued to chew betels whichwere offered by the attendants. Theremains of garlands, sandal paste andbetels the Lord distributed to all with hisown beautiful hand.

Raghunath was overjoyed byobtaining the leavings of the Lordsdishes and ate, sharing the same withall his people.

Thakur Brindavandas has pennedthe above account of this entertainmentof Nityananda which is known to all asthe famous festivity of chinra andcurds.

Then the Lord rested for a while then,when it was evening, the chanting ofKirtan was begun in Raghavs house.

Lord Nityananda himself danced atthe Kirtan and the Supreme Lord camethither to witness his dance which can becompared only with that of SreeChaitanya Himself in the quality of itssupreme mellowness. After the dancewas finished the Lord rested and thereafter dined with the Supreme Lord.Raghav gave the leavings of the meal ofthe two brothers to Raghunath with theremark that Chaitanya had partaken ofthat food and by Him Raghunath wouldbe freed from all his fetters.

In the morning as Lord Nityanandaafter bathing in the Ganges was seatedat the foot of the same tree as on theprevious day with all his associates,Raghunath came there and greeted hisfeet. He then laid his case before theLord by means of Raghav Pandit. It wasin effect this. I am the vilest of allcreatures, base and sinful. But I wish toobtain the feet of Chaitanya. I, amiserable dwarf wish to catch at theMoon. I have tried in many ways to obtainmy wish but I never succeeded by anysuch method. As often as I attempt to flyfrom home both my father and motherkeep me firmly tethered. No one canattain to Chaitanya without your mercy.With your mercy even the basest get toHim. I am unworthy and so am afraid tomake this request. Lord, have mercy onme and give me Chaitanya. Grant meyour favour by placing your feet on my


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(to be contd...)

head. Bless me that I may obtainChaitanya without being obstructed.

On hearing this the Lord with a smilesaid to all the devotees. The worldlypossessions of this person equal theestate of Indra, King of the celestials. Bythe mercy of Chaitanya those have noplace in his heart. Bless him all of youthat he may obtain the feet of SriChaitanya. One who realises the sweetfragrance of the lotus feet of Krishna

never waste a thought on bliss that isfound in the most enjoyable realms suchas those of Brahma and the Gods. Inthe words of the Bhagavat, Longingardently for Him, Who is the object of thebest praise he (King Ambarish)discarded even in the flower of youth thatwhich clings tenaciously to the heart andis difficult to part from, such as wife, son,friends, Kingdom, even as one gets ridof filth.

The Lord commanding Raghunathto be brought close to him and placinghis feet on his head continued, It is dueto you that this festivity of dining out inthe open on the river bank, has beenbrought about. Out of mercy for you Gaurcame here. Out of mercy He ate thechinraand milk, and after witnessing thedance ate the prasad at night Gaur cameHimself to deliver you. All your bonds ofevery kind, such as dangers, obstacles

etc., are gone. He will make you over toSwarup and keep you at His feet as Hisconfidential servant. Return homewithout anxiety. You will obtain the feetof Chaitanya soon and without difficulty.

The Lord made all the devoteesbless him. Raghunath greeted the feetof them all. Having received thecommend of the Lord he next obtained

the commends of the Vaishnavas. Hethen took counsel with Raghav in secret.After consulting him he made over to thestore-keeper of the Lord in private ahundred coins and seven tolas of gold.He asked him not to tell the Lord at thetime but to place the information beforethe Lord after his return home. TheRaghav Pandit led him into his houseand after making him see the Deity gavehim sandal paste and garlands. He gavehim a good deal of prasad sufficient forhis journey.

Then Raghunath again said to theLord, I wish to worship the feet of all thehigh servants and dependents that arewith the Lord. Be pleased to give twenty,fifty, ten, twelve, fifteen or a couple ofcoins to each as appears fit after dueconsideration. He wrote out a list ofpayments to be made, as dictated byRaghav Pandit, and handed it over to

him. He then took a hundred coins andtwo talas of gold to the pandit in asuppliant spirit. After taking the dust ofhis feet he returned home. His wisheswere fulfilled by obtaining the mercy ofNityananda. From that time Raghunathdid not go into the inner parts of thehouse. He slept in the outer parts of thepavilion of goddess Durga.


17/23


A Lecture in Vrindaban

I have no capacity to tend to the feetof the denizens of this holy place. Yetby the grace of Sri Gaur Sundar andurged by your good wishes, I stand hereto speak only if I may thereby serve theservants of Sri Gauranga. Indeed if wecan truly serve the feet of the devotees

of Sri Gauranga, by whose gracefulglance alone all desires, hopes andaims in life are easily fulfilled, then thatwill be a crowning achievement.

We are proud of our ego. We areeither given to judge sinful and piousacts or think how we can lord it overothers by acquiring power. These areall base self-glorifications. But onedevoted to Gauranga says that alldesires actuating every object from thepillar to the highest being (Brahma), alllabour for worldly possessions, alllonging for enjoyment and every kind ofrenunciation after satiety, are allpseudo-existent and evanescent i.e.,subject to change and time. When welose anything so acquired life seems tobe vacant and useless. But it is quitefutile to try to straighten the tail of a dog such being the end of all enjoymentsin the fourteen spheres. All pleasuresacquired as the fruits of worldly work aretransitory.

Carried away by sense-perceptions of eye, ear, touch, taste andsound we turn into ego-worshippers. Inthis state the pure activity of the soul liesdormant. Then we also desire thepleasure in heaven. And when suchideas are strong in us we err by

Prabhupad Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Goswami Thakur

identifying ourselves with this mind whichthus seems to be the enjoyer of the thingsof this world. This propensity for selfishenjoyment deadens the pure function ofthe soul.

But the soul knows that Sri Krishnais the One Absolute Truth.

Sri Narayana is the embodiment ofHis Majesty, Narayana though is theultimate source of the Absolute Truth,Krishnas transcendental designation,form, qualities, and sportive activities(y) excel Narayanas Majesty by Hisdisplay of sweetening Beauty. In Krishnathe fullest majesty is mellowed by themost delicious sweetness (|) whichpredominates. When we do not knowall these and forget our true selves wecannot understand the activities of aVaishnava and the transcen-dental truthunderlying such activities, and so giveourselves up to wordly enmity andfriendship, taking things transitory andillusory as eternal and real.

Secondly, Krishna is completely all-cognisant. Material objects are not self-conscious. God is ever existent. It is,indeed, through mistake that we

consider ourselves as Brahman. It isonly then that such useless argumentsfor the effacement of all super-sensuousdiversity or variety in Absolute Truth, takehold of us. The function of the spirit isclogged and our minds run after worldlyenjoyment. The materialised mind thinksthat sensual enjoyment is obtained atKrishnas Feet. But at the Feet ofKrishna everything is spiritual and so not


18/23


an object for the gratification of oursenses. When truth is obscured in uscarried away by egoistic tendencies wetake things material as of the spirit.

Krishna is bliss. In Him dwellsperfect joyHe is the embodiment of it.Sensual knowledge or joy is notperfect;there-in all our longings are notrealised. Under the spell of sense-perceptions we imagine that there mightbe unalloyed happiness in ego-worship

or in the kaivalya state of Patanjali.All seeking after joy is the function

of the soul. When the desire for joywakes up in our minds we commit ablunder in running after worldly objectsand enjoyment. It is only when we receivea spiritual sight of Krishna, that weunderstand that His service must ofnecessity, be the sole aim in life. As longas we thus hanker after our ownpleasures we try to enjoy the world is not

made for our enjoyment. When spiritualbliss will appear in us like the incessantflow of oil then shall we be truly tied tothe feet of Krishna.

Such numerical variety as that ofone two and three exists only in worldlydiversity. This diversity acquires acertain inexpressible sameness in theworld of spirit. Then we appreciate thatKrishna alone is the eternal TruthAbsolute. When the very existence of

Truth and sensiency in our own slevesbecome solely relative to Him only thenwe are established in our real normalstate.

At present many false meaningshave been imported into the worddevotion. Regard for ones parents,loyalty to man, obediene to the teacher,etc. pass as Bhakti. But the root \

means to serve. If we do not clearlyjudge as to what must be the medium ofthat service then it is sure to bemisapplied. As Chaitanya Chandramritasings:

N: Nu|u Fu{uT|:yuOT| F NlbN Nzub: @ u uN: uN NzuY{oY ut Nw Nzu @@This is the quarrelling age. The

senses, which are our enemies, are nowvery powerful; and crores of thorns chokethe path of pure Bhakti. I am quite at aloss to know what I shall do or where Ishall go unless Chaitanya Chandrashows mercy unto me.

We live in the Kaliyugathis is anage of strife. So it happens that the self-luminous path of pure devoton iscompletely covered up with millions ofthorns in the shape of foolish

argumentations and wordy wranglings. Inthese circumstances it is absolutelyimpossible to have the knowledge ofpure devotion without the mercy ofChaitanya Chandra. Sri ChaitanyaChandra is Krishna Himself. He is theGod-head. We cannot know God by theexertions of our senses. As the KathaUpanishad says:

n Yz z z oz @

z{ En wmoz o @@The knowledge about the all-

embracing Oversoul cannot be attainedeither through reasoning,argumentations or hearing the Vedas;only to him does He manifest His personwhom He accepts.

(contd. in page 20)


19/23


Nama, Namabhasa and NamaparadhaSripad Nitaidas Brahmachari

In India, among the people of theHindu community, almost all, it isobseverd, believe in chanting the LordsNames and also perform the same theirindividually and privetely orcongregationally in some mandalis orgroups regularly and in some cases

occasionally. But though the great powerof the Names of God is described in allscriptures, why are the fruits not obtainedby the chanters of the Names? Theefficacy of the chanting of the Names isso highly spoken of in all the scripturesthat even once pure utterance of the HolyName will not only destroy all the sins thatone might have committed in past lives,and in the present, but will also make himrealize the Supreme Divinity Himself

Who is identical with His Names. Butnot to speak of the realisation of God,even the purification of hearts is also notobserved to have been realised by mostof the chanters.

There are many causes for notobtaining the intended results of thechanting of the Divine Names.

The first cause is that the faith orbelief possessed by the people in theDivine Names, and in Their power, is

unfortunately very meagre, customaryand unsteady. Such customary andemotional faith of the people is not thereal or scriptural faith, which is essentiallyrequired for the purpose. Scriptural faithcannot grow without association and theblessings of saint, who chants the DivineNames constantly and purely.

A possessor of steady scriptural

faith in the Divine Name is he whobelieves that Lord Sri Krishna and HisDivine Names are identical, eternal andtranscendental, and that by chanting theDivine Names selflessly one gets all thereligious performances automaticallyperformed. But in these days all over

India, except some Chaitanyites and afew other Vaishnavas who have takenabsolute shelter in Sri Nama, people donot possess single-minded faith in DivineNames. The holy scriptures have notpraised or eulogized the Divine Namessuperfluously, and they have also notsanctioned the chanting with offencesagainst the Holy Name.

There are three classes of peopleamong the chanters of the Names viz., a

few most fortunate souls only in the wholeworld who chant the pure Names withoutcommitting any offences against theNames; some few are chanting theNamabhas and others are chanting withNamaparadha. Scriptures havecompared the Name of Lord Sri Krishna,purely chanted by or appearing on thetongue of a pure devotee, with theglowing sun; Namabhasa with thetwilight appearance or the dawn; and

Namaparadhas or offences with thethickest darkness of the dark midnight.

When the chanter chants the Names,and at the same time commits offenceswilfully against the Holy Names, which isthe worst condition he can be in, how canthose good results of the chanting of theNames described by the scriptures beobtained by the chanter?

(Contd. on page 23)


20/23


God-head is eternal. We cannotattain to Him unless we realise He isbliss Himself. One confined within hispsychic range in a hundred ways, cannotknow that God is and so accepts thingsother than God as objects of his worship.Unable to understand the true subjectand object of enjoyment, as well as thenature of enjoyment itself he imaginesthe world as created to afford him every

kind of pleasure. This materialisedmind strives only after selfish enjoyment.By this fleshy form we cannot serveKrishna. It is possible only in spirit. Theatomic theory of the world knows nothingof that service.

In the variety of His manifestationsAbsolute Truth Himself is to bedetermined from Narayana. In Krishnaexists Narayana Who is His Majesticform. Baladeva is the manifestation of

His Self. He is the all-pervading Over-soul. With the revelation of the functionof supreme knowledge in our soul, wecome to know that Krishna is the

Absolute Truth. He is also perfect bliss,reverence does not stand in His way.Intimate service cannot be rendered ifone is actuated by reverence. Yet Krishnais the eternal object of the devoteeswhole-hearted service. But He is to beserved with the ever-existent senses ofthe soul. We cannot serve Him throughimagination or sentiment. Super-sensuous knowledge of our relation withHim is essential. There is no-body whomI can call my own except one who issolely devoted to Krishna. Krishna aloneis the one object of my service. This faithis the one glory of the Vaishnava. Thisis the supreme necessity of life. Materialfame full of the idea of selfish enjoymentis never desirable.

Time is running short. The time forthe evening wave-offering ceremony isdrawing nigh. I must no longer encroachupon your time of service. It is be

Krishnas wish I shall again try to serveyou. A thousand obeisances at the feetof the devotees of Krishna.

S

(contd.. from page 18)

An out look of Prabhupad Samadhi Temple


21/23


He has perfect control over his

mind i.e. fully engaged in the DivineService of the Supreme Lord, is verycalm and free from love and hatred, isnever perturbed by the mundaneopposites such as heat and cold,happiness and misery and honour anddishonour and his soul is deeplyabsorbed in meditation on the SupremeLord. 7

rurowon Nbsz uu\ozu: @

O FnXoz zTy zb~N: @@8@@Jnnvijnnatripttmkutastho vijitendriyah |

yukta ityuchyate yogeesamaloshtrsmaknchanah ||8||

O: zTy GXoz =He is called yuktayogi or Yogarudha,rurowon =whois self-content with jnna (knowledgeacquired from the teachings of Acharyas) andVijnna (the transcendental realisation of hisownself and of Supreme God),Nbs: =

remains pervaded by one nature (i.e., eternalservitorship to the Supreme Lord) at all times,uu\ozu: =self restrained i.e. who engagedall his senses in the Divine Service of the Lord,zb~N: =sees equal a lump of dirt,rock and gold (because all of them are tohim nothing but the variations of earth andtherefore ephemeral).

He is called Yukta Yogi or

yyT T{W{ \o:SRIMAD BHAGAVADGITA

yTyoezD: CHAPTER-VIzT: DHYNA YOGA

(Contd. from January issue) Yogrudha, whois self-content

with Jnna( k n o w l e d g eacquired from the teachings ofAcharyas) and Vijnna(the transcen-dental realisation of his own self and ofSupreme God), remains pervaded byone nature (i.e. eternal servitorship to theSupreme Lord) at all times, self-restrianed i.e. who engaged all hissensees in the Divine Service of theLord, sees equal a lump of dirt, rock and

gold (because all of them are to himnothing but the variations of earth andtherefore ephemeral). 8

ufi|tys z @u Y z uu|uoz @@9@@

Suhrinmitrryudseena-madhyasthadveshyabandhushu |

sdhushvapi cha ppeshusamabuddhirvishishyate ||9||

u: =He who has an equal mind,o=on the person who wishes one well byhis nature,ufi =one who actually does goodout of affection, Eu = enemy, Gty =onewho is neutral in times of conflict or honour,s =the mediator who tries to resolveconflict between the two sides,z =theperson who deserves hatred because he harmsothers, = relative, Eu = thefollower ofdharma and,z Y =also thefollower ofadharma,uuoz =is greatly


22/23


superior.

He who has an equal mind onthe person who wishes one well by hisnature; one who actually does good outof affection; enemy; one who is neutralin times of conflict or honour; themediator who tries to resolve conflictbetween the two sides; the person whodeserves hatred because he harmsothers; relative; the follower of dharmaand, also the follower of adharma; isgreatly superior. This position issuperior to that of seeing dirt and goldas the same. 9

zTy yo oon u uso: @LNNy ouYn uyuT: @@10@@

Yogee yunjeeta satata-mtmnam rahasi sthitah |

ekkee yatachitttmnirsheeraparigrahah ||10||

zTy =A yogi,uso: =remaining,u

=in solitary place,LNNy =freeing himselffrom all evil company,ouYn =controllinghis mind and body,uy: =void of any desirefor fruitive actions, EuT: =devoid of anydesire to accumulate,yo En =shouldfix his mind composed in deep meditation onthe Nama, Rupa, Guna and Leelas of theSupreme Lord Sri Krishna,oo=always.

A yogi, remaining in solitary place,freeing himself from all evil company,controlling his mind and body, void of any

desire for fruitive actions, devoid of anydesire to accumulate, should fix hismind composed in deep meditation onthe Nama, Rupa, Guna and Leelas ofthe Supreme Lord Sri Krishna, always.10

Y{ tzz uoe usn: @nuXZ~o uoyY Y{u\Nz @@11@@

ofi{NT : Nwn ouYzuuN: @Guz `[zTnuz @@12@@

Shuchau deshe pratishtpyasthiramsanamtmanah|

ntyuchhritam ntineechamchailjinakushottaram ||11||

Tatraikgram manah kritv yatachittendriyakriyah |

upavishysane yunjyd-yogamtmavishuddhaye ||12||

o=(A yogi) Should practise,

zT=

yoga,Enuz=for the purification of theself,uoe =establishing, En: =himself,Y{tzz =in a pure place,us E=onhis fixed seat, EnuXZ~o=neither very high, EuoyY=nor very low,Y{\Nz =with kusha, then deer skin, and cloth on top,ofi Ez Gu =taking his seat on it,LNTNwn : =concentrating the mind on theDivine Pastimes of the Supreme Lord SriKrishna, ouYzuuN: = diverting theattention, senses and actions from the outsideworld to the Lord of senses.

A yogi should practise yoga for thepurification of the self establishinghimself in a pure place on his fixed seat,neither very high, nor very low, withkusha, then deerskin, and cloth on topand taking his seat on it, concentratingthe mind, on the Divine Pastimes of theSupreme Lord Sri Krishna, diverting theattention, senses and actions from

outside world to the Lord of senses.Refer Katha Upanishad I.3.12.

11,12

NuzTy Y us @zfl uNT utzN @@13@@on uToy|Yuoz uso: @: uz O Eyo n: @@14@@


23/23


Samam kyashirogreevamdhrayannachalam sthiram |

samprekshya nsikgram svamdishaschnavalokayan ||13||

Prashnttm vigatabheer-brahmachrivrate sthitah |

manah samyamya machchitto yukta seeta matparah ||14||

=(He) Holding,NuzTy=his body, head and neck,EY=erectwithout movement, uN Tzfl =gazingat the tip of his nose,ut: Y EzM=without looking at all the directions,us: =being firm,on =with peaceful mind,uToy: =devoid of fear,Yu oz uso: =observing the vow of celibacy i.e. chastity inbody, mind and word, : =withdrawing his mind from the sense objects,

(to be contd....)

The only result he will get forcommitting offences is misery for lives

to come. Sometimes those offendersare also seen gaining some transientmaterial objects, viz., money, womenand honours from the ignorant worldlyminded people. But calamity is in storefor them for ever.

This state which has beencompared with the thickest darkness,contains in itself, fear from all theives,dacoits, ferocious animals, dangerousreptiles etc., representing formidable

passion, anger, glottony, malice,infatuation. These reign supreme in hisunclean heart in that period.

Namabhasa is a far better conditionin the chanters life where the dimreflection or the twilight appearance ofthe Divine Nama-Sun is experienced byhim. In that period, though pure Nama-Sun has not appeared or is not visible,

(contd.from page 19)

*

u: = meditating on My (the Lord)Transcendental Blissful Two Armed Triple-bended Form,n: =absorbed in LovingDevotion to Me,O Eyo =must practiseyoga.

He, holding his body, head and neckerect without movement, gazing at the tipof his nose, without looking at all thedirections, being firm, with peacefulmind, devoid of fear, observing the vowof celibacy i.e. chastity in body, mind and

word, withdrawing his mind from thesense objects, meditating on My (theLord) Transcendental Blissful Two ArmedTriple-bended Form, absorbed in LovingDevotion to Me, must practise Yoga.

13,14

still by His dim reflection Abhasa, hedispels the thickest darkness, the gloomof ignorance or Maya, and hence all

thieves, wild animals etc., also run awayfrom the cavity of his heart. ThisNamabhasa-period is ones freedomfrom Maya or immune state of life. Afterthis, the Divine Nama, representing thegreatest of the luminosities, rises, andshows Himself and all other objectsclearly as to what is what and who iswho. This state of heart is called purifiedSattva or transcendental heart which isequal with the spiritual firmament where

the Divine Sounds or the Divine Namesof the Lord play the eternal pastimeswith full freedom.

zNw m zNw mNw mNw m zz @

z z zz @@

gaudiya math chennai / the gaudiya february 2012

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